Carrying on from the Datsun 210, the 310 appeared in August 1959. Starting with this model, the brand name "Bluebird" was used.

The 310 attracted a crowd of 120,000 people to the official launch in 1959, and 20,000 units had been shipped by March of the following year; exports to America had also started.

The first Bluebird (Datsun 310) was with a choice of a 1,000cc/38PS or a 1,200cc/43PS engine. In October of the following year, a minor change led to the 311; the engines were upgraded to 45PS and 55PS respectively. The 311 had a maximum speed of 110km/h for the 1,000cc, 120km/h for the 1,200cc. No other compact car could match the top speed of the Bluebird at that time.

At launch, it was a 4-passenger vehicle, but two months later the rear seat was enlarged to allow the car to carry 5 people.